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Men arrested for operating chop shop

Two men were arrested by Leon County Sheriff’s Office deputies Monday for running an illegal “chop shop.” Investigators say Ronald Rueth, 30, and Jonathon Willis, 29, set up an operation stealing motorcycles, removing their Vehicle Identification Numbers and breaking them down to sell for parts.

The LCSO Property Crimes Unit made the arrests at the men’s makeshift shop in a rural area off Woodville Highway, in the 11000 block of Brightstar Circle. A release from LCSO said the men were arrested without incident.

Both men are being charged with operating a chop shop. Reuth also is being charged with possession of marijuana less than 20 grams and passing a worthless bank check. Willis faces additional charges of dealing in stolen property by use of the internet and four counts of possession of a vehicle with altered/defaced VIN.

Jonathon M. Willis, 29(Photo: Leon County Sheriff's Office)

Deputies were alerted to the chop shop by a tip they received over the weekend from a citizen who said they knew where their recently stolen motorcycle was being stored.

“It’s not something that we see every day, and to be honest, this was not some elaborate garage,” said LCSO public information officer Lt. Grady Jordan. “If you have an old motorcycle you’re trying to fix and searching Craigslist for parts, these two guys went online to make those parts available.”

Jordan noted the men’s sale of stolen parts was taking place strictly over the internet.

An investigation is underway in an effort to locate the owners of the stolen motorcycles. As of now, the Property Crimes Unit is unsure of whether the motorcycles were all stolen from the Tallahassee area or elsewhere.

“We don’t know where they were all stolen from, a lot of the VIN numbers were scrubbed and scratched. That’s part of the ongoing investigation,” Jordan said.

Anyone who has been the victim of a motorcycle burglary and is still trying to locate their property can call the Property Crimes Unit at 606-3300.